A place where you just might find a little conversation about The Atlanta Braves, The Georgia Southern Eagles, hunting and fishing, antique furniture, Browning Shotguns and whatever else is on my mind!!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

A spokesman from the corporate offices of Duckpower, Inc.
has confirmed rumors of a possible impeachment.It seems that many employees and one founding member of the company have
become increasingly disgruntled at the leadership being displayed by the
company’s President, Mr. Duckman.There
have long been accusations of abuse from the highest office, but loyal
followers of the company, which have offices in Maine as well as in Georgia,
have been encouraged to sweep those thoughts under the rug for the sake of the
business.The head of the Southern
division was overheard saying that “the mental abuse and constant ridicule
displayed by Mr. President towards his loyal employees are sure to bring an end
to what some have said was a shaky union to begin with”.

It seems that the problems started with an unpaid corporate
fishing sponsorship.Mr. President, who
apparently agreed to sponsor an employee’s bass tournament failed to fulfill
his sponsorship obligations because the sponsored team did not technically
“win” the tournament.You can see the
ESPN article here where the employee is clearly heard
thanking this supposed sponsorship.Our
sources say that the bill was never paid and tensions started to run a little
high in the Southern Division.

There was also word that Mr. President was a little stingy
with his allotment of last year’s Super bowl tickets that were given to him by
his twin brother.It seems that Mr.
President harbors ill will towards his twin and would not allow any of his
employees to support his brother’s team.All Green Bay Packer gear has long been outlawed at company functions.

The Northern Division of the company can be considered even
more unstable.The relationship between
Mr. President and his co-founder Mr. Duckhammer and the one simply known as Diesel, is a difficult one to
explain to say the least.It has been reported that on many
occasions, Mr. President has abused his power, using it to his distinct
advantage, in blatant attempts to elicit favors from his constituents. As proof
of his debauchery, this ½ naked photo of Mr. President clearly depicts him
staring lovingly at the cameraman, poor Vice President Diesel, in a vain
attempt to seduce him with his powerful animal magnetism in order to solidify
his honorable status.

Photo courtesy of Duckpower, Inc. annual report

This was of course only the beginning of Mr. President’s
deviant behavior. This additional file photo
seems to show an unwanted fondling of an employees’ shoulder. Sure it may seem innocent but trust me this could
be a slippery slope that can only end in ruin.

The company spokesman would not confirm or deny that the
board was currently in session at time of print, and whether or not Mr.
President was in attendance.It does not
look good for the sitting president of Duckpower, Inc., however, this reporter
thinks that the company may just be better off in the long run.Just take a look at this recently surfaced
video that was buried deep in the company vaults.You may recall that just recently Mr.
President publicly called out a founding member of the company for lack of
shooting skills and that founding member was subjected to ridicule in the duck
hunting blog industry.Parental guidance
is suggested due to language not fit for a company President.

Wow!Nice
shooting!!Now you tell me.Does this look like a man that should be
leading others in a Duck Hunting company/blogging venture??I think not.

Reporting for Hunting News Daily, I’m A Brave Eagle in the Rabid
Outdoors!

**For those of you reading this post and wondering just what in the world is going on, don't worry! I'm just having a little fun with the Duckman, who I consider a good friend, because he chose to have a little fun with me! Consider this revenge Mr. President! You the Man bud!!**

Monday, October 24, 2011

My Dad and I have been fortunate enough to lease the same piece of property for the past 20 years. In fact, we have seen the property as a clear cut twice. Deer like you see in the picture above were once a very rare site on our club. Sure someone would kill a nice one every other year or so, but for the most part, we had members that shot any buck that walked, no matter what the size. As time has moved on and members as well, some changes have been made that have made all the difference in our hunting success. We started to manage our deer herd.

Our club once had 8 members. We are now where we want to be at 4, and all of us recognize the rewards that come with a good management program. Several years ago we starting talking to each other about the size deer that we wanted to shoot. We decided on an 8 point or better with an inside spread of at least 15 inches (outside his ears). By letting the smaller bucks go, we started to see bigger bucks in only the second year of our management program. If you have followed my blog for any time, then you have seen some of the deer that we have caught on camera or harvested including this very nice drop tine 11 point killed by my Dad 4 years ago.

Terrible picture, but you get the idea!

This is the first big buck that came out of our management program and the buck that got everyone on our club thinking bigger and better things. In the last 4 years the members of our club have taken more 10 point or better bucks than in the first 16 years that we held the lease. Management works! Especially if you can talk your neighbors into managing the same way, which we have.

I tell you all this to make myself feel better about not shooting this buck this past Saturday!

I had this bad boy just 100 yards from my stand for half an hour Saturday night. I studied him long and hard through my binoculars and even checked out his front shoulder with the cross-hairs of my scope. I admit that I even flicked off the safety. But I just couldn't bring myself to shoot this deer as I though about all of our management efforts. What you can't see in this picture is that he has small little kickers on his end beams making him a "want to be" 10 point. The more I looked at him, the more I realized that he was not a mature deer. Sure he is a stud 8 pointer, but I think I would have been mad at myself if I shot him based on the potential of what he could be next year or the year after.

Now I know what some of you might say! "Somebody else is just going to shoot him for you!" That may be the case, but at least I am giving him another chance to make it until next year. I'm hoping that he will just stay around our place. He has all he needs! Food, shelter and a bunch of does to service him. Beside, I know there is a bigger boy out there. One of our members has a definite shooter on his camera not far from this location shown above. Hopefully I can show you a picture of him in the same manner as the picture below!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I pulled the card out of my camera after I moved it to one of my favorite stand sites. This is in the middle of a clear cut and I got 45 pictures in just 2 1/2 days. I was glad to see that at least one buck is in the area. He looks like he is fairly tall, but I want to see some more shots of him before I make my mind up about how old he is. I have been seeing a larger set of tracks near this stand site, so I decided to do a little more scouting in the area with the camera. This is an excellent afternoon stand and you can see for a long way across this clear cut.

Monday, October 17, 2011

I was able to find some time yesterday to put the final finish on the first of my two Columbus Day tables. Here is what we started with-

And here is how it finished up-

It really turned into a very nice piece and will look great in someones home. The clawed feet are hard to find and a table in this good of shape should move quickly. I wish I had room in my house for another one, but then again I wish I could keep all of them that I work on.

On another note...

The OBN is celebrating a birthday this week. They have been serving as a place for outdoor bloggers to meet for the past calender year. This has been a great resource for me as an outdoor blogger and they have done an excellent job in maintaining this site. Here's to many more years and many more blogs!

Friday, October 14, 2011

This is what yours truly looked like 20 years ago and baseball is what I lived for. Nothing was as important to me as that glove, ball, bat and playing field. A lot has changed in the last 20 years. I no longer look like this athletic ball player seen before you. Baseball is not my number one thing anymore. My teammates are no longer the central people in my life. But this weekend will give me an opportunity to relive some of those memories from 20 years ago. The FHS Class of 1991 will celebrate our 20 year high school reunion starting tonight. I will see folks that I haven't seen since the day we graduated. I'm looking very forward to it.

It's funny to me how you keep up with some people and some you don't. I was friends with just about everyone in my class, but as you get older you loose touch with classmates and you are constantly making new friends. I have been reminded of some great relationships that I had as I have been on the planning committee for this event. I have already had fun catching up with the other committee members and realizing just what a great class that we really had. We were a really close group and I think we are proving that by the number of classmates that are scheduled to attend. Other classes have been celebrating this fall (10 and 25 year), and we have double the number of classmates attending our event. I think that speaks well for the Class of 1991.

So tonight and tomorrow night I will try to be young again and enjoy celebrating friendships with a bunch of old folks who helped to shape me into the person I am today. I love my classmates and I am ready to be reminded of just how lucky we all really were to share our school years with each other!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Thanks to Christopher Columbus, I had the day off on Monday. My wife decided to take the day off with me in order for us to spend some much needed time together. The kids were in school, so we decided to hop in the car and travel down the road to Thomasville, Georgia to check out some of their antique shops. As I have said before, you never know when the right deal will present itself and that deal can not be made unless you are there to make it. I didn't set my hopes very high because Thomasville in known to be a very "rich" town and I wasn't sure if any of their shops would have any un-finished items that would be in my price range. Remember that I am looking for something to be refinished and then resold!

We cruised through their downtown area looking at all of the various shops. Thomasville has the model for a downtown that all towns should follow. It really is quite an amazing place with all kinds of antique stores, variety shops, coffee shops, cafes, and even a high end sportsman's shop carrying fine guns. We decided to park at the end of the main street, which happened to be in front of the first antique shop. After touring that particular store we just walked up one side of the street and down the other. We had a good time just shopping along and I was also lucky enough to find a GREAT deal on the two center tables shown above.

This first little oak table is a pretty nice little piece. It is in very good shape and the legs have a lot of spindles. The top and bottom shelf have been painted, but that should not be a problem. At least the legs are bare and should not be a very big challenge. This will make a very nice bedside table or corner table for someones home or cabin.

This is the table that made the trip!! This is a fairly large oak center table that is in excellent shape. I got it for a steal!! It doesn't have a bad spot on it. If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see that it also has brass "ball and claw" feet. These are very hard to find and usually sell for a LOT of money. The table has some age on it and the wood and brass are tarnished with time. The wood looks almost black, but the next pictures will show exactly what a find that I got!

Is that Tiger Oak that I see????

I do believe it is!! Cha-ching!!

This this is going to be out of this world beautiful when I am finished with it. I am going to visit the local refinishing shop this morning to see if I can get some ideas for polishing the old brass on the clawed feet. I can't wait to see how this one will turn out. Stay tuned!

I now have 4 tables in my inventory that need to be finished and sold. If you are interested in any of these, just let me know. Here is a shot of one that I do have completed that is ready to go.

Overall it was a great Columbus day! I spent time with the wife, found some deals, worked in the shop and watched it rain all day. It is still raining this morning and we will take all that we can get!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

I will be the first to admit that I get a small rush when I check my game camera. I guess it is the excitement of what the next picture could bring. Will it be that big buck that you haven't seen or a long bearded turkey or another animal all together? I have focused my game camera efforts on only one stand this season, so I have to admit that I have grown a little tired of seeing the same deer over and over. I know that this can change while deer move around a bit more in colder weather or during the rut, but I have found my scouting to fall into a little rut of its own. I decided to give it a fresh look.

I have never used the video feature on my camera before. I decided to give it a try this weekend in hopes of seeing something amazing. While the results were not quite amazing, they were certainly fun to watch. The camera shot 18 sixteen second videos in just over two days. Here are some of the highlights! Enjoy!

Yes, Mr. Eight point is still hanging around as you can see. I also got some videos of feeding does, coons, squirrels and of course turkeys. Some of you have said that Mr. Eight point is a shooter. Now that you have had the chance to see him move around a little, do you still feel that way? I think he is only a 2 1/2 to 3 year old deer and needs a little more time to turn into a wall hanger. He is still a little leggy and he doesn't have that drooping belly yet. He also seems to be very skiddish in his movements like a younger deer looking for his big brother to jump out from behind a tree. He is a nice deer, but if he gets to next year I think he could be a stud. Just look at the progress he made from last year. I'm pretty sure this is the same deer based on the general area that he is in and the fact that he has that nice curve on the end of his rack on the right side.

Mr. Eight Point in 2010

Mr. Eight Point in 2011

See what a difference a year makes!!

So go out and flip your camera to video mode if you want a little change of pace. It is pretty cool to see these deer move around a little bit and give you some different perspective.

Monday, October 3, 2011

It was a beautiful Sunday here in South Georgia, so we decided to go out and do a little shooting after church. We gathered up a few guns, mostly small calibers like .22's and .17's and hit the range. Reid took his Marlin youth modle .22 and a bag full of bullets. My Dad and I were content to let him shoot until he was tired.

We had a good time and I am happy to report that even though we had some windy conditions, the groups were very tight by the end of the afternoon. I even took the time to shoot my 30.06. I am thankful that it was dead on after only one shot. That thing packs a little more punch than a .22.

The following is a short video of Reid shooting his gun and getting a little advice from his Papa. He does pretty well and by the end of the day was showing very good form. He takes his time and I got a good laugh each time he would eject his spent shell. After the shell would leave the chamber, Reid would blow into the barrel. He told us that he didn't want that smoke inside his gun!

About Me

I am a married father of two with a career in the banking industry. I love my Georgia Southern Eagles and The Atlanta Braves. I spend my spare time in the woods, on the water, on the golf course or in my shop refinishing antique furniture